The free-market for information has created an environment ripe for the unlicensed sharing of copyrighted works. Early in the evolution of the PC and Internet, this was termed �Software Piracy,� by software companies who felt their profit margin was shrinking due to the unlicensed sharing of their product. There are several types of software piracy recognized today. The most prominent of these probably being �Soft lifting,� defined as when a person or company buys a license for a single computer and loads the software onto more than one computer (Jonsson, par. 3). A second type of piracy involves the loading of software onto the user�s hard drive, and using the program without a legal copy of the distribution medium. This type of piracy can be accomplished by sharing of distribution medium by someone who has purchased the product, the rental of a copy of the medium from a library or other similar organization, or by the transfer of a digital image of the distribution medium over a network to another, unlicensed user. A larger and potentially more malicious type of piracy involves the duplication of the software distribution medium. This can be either the �burning� of a CD, copying of a disk, or reproduction of a digital tape. This type of piracy can be a problem for the consumer as well as the distributor, as a person may not even know they are being sold a counterfeit copy of the software they are paying a full license fee for. As time progresses and technology improves, there were be a relative increase in the innovation of software �Pirates,� requiring software distributors keep ever vigilant that they are receiving their entitled compensation for their efforts.
Recent Relavent Legislation
NET act: No Electronic Theft Act
December 16th, 1997
The NET act closed the "loophole" that prevented many law enforcement agencies from prosecuting software piracy, especially over the internet. The "Lamacchia Loophole," or as it was called prevented law enforcement agencies from prosecuting copyright violators who did not receieve monetary compensation from their sharing of copyrighted works. This obviously became much more relavent with the increase in popularity of file sharing networks in the last decade.
Click here for more information on file sharing networks.
WIPO
Geneva, December 2 to 20, 1996
WIPO Copyright Treaty outlines basic international copyright law. It defines what is protected by copyright law, and what rights the authors of such works have. It also outlines the rights of parties involved in a contract granting rights from an author to another person. For a more in depth look at the treaty and its implications, visit here.
Click here for a copy of the U.S. Copyright Office summary of the legislation.
DMCA: Digital Millenium Copyright Act
October 28th, 1998
The DMCA legislation updated U.S. Copyright law to be consistant with the WIPO treaty, as well as removed liability for copyright infringement from ISPs.
Click here to view the U.S. Copyright Office summary of the legislation.
